The Contest
by Teacups and Owls
Summary: Fred and George hold a contest among the girls of Hogwarts and convince Hermione to participate. The prize? A date in Hogsmeade with a certain red haired twin.


It was a horribly busy night in the Gryffindor common room as the students prepared for their impending OWLs. Young witches and wizards stormed throughout the room, tearing through text books as if the pages were on fire. Among all the hustle and bustle, one student was uncharacteristically calm. Hermione Granger sat in front of the fire with a serene smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. She had finished her studies weeks ago and was finally able to relax. Although up until a few days ago, she expected herself to be frantically pouring over her notes until the last possible second, Hermione simply couldn't keep her mind off a certain red haired boy.

The previous Monday, the golden trio was marching off to potions when something caught Harry's eye.

"Ron, are those your brothers? What in Merlin's name are they doing?" he asked while trying to catch a glimpse of the twins, who had just disappeared around the corner, toting a large, colorful banner.

Ron groaned, "I haven't got a clue. Although I'm sure we'll find out soon." Sure enough, when the trio approached the potions class room, they were met with a giant orange and purple banner, adorned with sparklers, floating above the door.

 _"Curious,"_ thought Hermione, " _Whatever they're up to this time must be important if they're willing to risk Snape coming out and seeing this obnoxiously large sign. I mean honestly, it's as if they **want** him to see it! They aren't even attempting to be discreet."  
_  
"Oi! Harry, Ron, Hermione!" shouted George, as he put his arms around the three and pulled them toward the display, "I can't wait for you lot to try out our newest invention!"

"What is it?" Hermione asked hesitantly, as Fred popped out from the newly formed crowd. "You know you two will be in a mess of trouble if Umbridge hears about this..."

"That old hag?" exclaimed Fred,"She couldn't catch us if we hired Hagrid to sing and dance in a tutu and pound a note into her door. Besides-"

""No one-" said George

"And we mean NO ONE-," continued Fred

"Would ever dare to turn us in." finished George.

Hermione knew the twins were right. The duo had worked up quite the reputation at Hogwarts, and ever since Umbridge had started working at the school, students became even more wary of ending up on the twins' bad side. They were always quick to prank anyone and everyone who showed even the slightest bit of respect for the awful woman, and they were not forgiving when it came to the execution. Since the beginning of term, many students, slytherins especially, had found themselves at the mercy of the twins' products. In one particularly bad instance, a slytherin boy was made to croak like a frog anytime Umbridge spoke to him, and he couldn't figure out the counter-jinx for three whole days.

 _"Some of their pranks can be downright cruel, even if the students on the receiving end of the pranks do somewhat deserve them. Although I have to admit, the twins are capable of extraordinary magic! Even I have trouble figuring out how they do it sometimes,"_ Hermione thought." _It's hard not to appreciate the sheer talent it takes to create such amazing inventions. And I have to admit, Fred always looks incredibly cute whenever he gets a new idea for a product. The way his eyes light up and he begins whispering excitedly to George-Wait. WHAT? Where in Merlin's name did that come from?"_ Thought Hermione. " _I don't think of Fred that way! Wait, Do I? **No way**. He's Ron's brother for goodness sake!"_ Hermione was pulled from her reverie when she realized that the twins were still talking.

"They'll be especially unwilling to turn us in once they hear about our little contest." said Fred, with a mischievous glint in his eye. "I dare say even _you_ , little miss prefect, will want to join in."

"And why on earth would I ever want to do that?" asked Hermione, with one eyebrow raised quizzically and a frown on her face.

"Because," answered George, "the grand prize is a date in Hogsmeade with my _devilishly_ handsome twin."

"And I happen to believe _you_ just might be the winner." Fred added with a wink.

The twins turned and waltzed over to the waiting crowd, leaving Hermione, stunned, staring after them.

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 ***Author's note:** **Hi guys! This is my first ever fanfiction and I just wanted to see if anyone was interested in reading this story before I decided to keep on going with it. Reviews would be greatly appreciated! I'm definitely making this a Fred/Hermione fic. :) I've just recently stumbled upon the possibility of them as a ship, and even though I'm a diehard Ron/Hermione shipper, I absolutely love Fred and Hermione together as well! Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter! Thanks! :D**


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